A gift for Niki
by goldenboat
Summary: It's an Alexander/Hephaistion AU fic set in the present.Alexandros is a famous shipping tycoon and heads the Petros shipping industry. This is his story, told in several parts, from point of view of various persons. Most importantly its the story of Alex and his husband Tion and their little son Andreas Nicholas..or Niki in short.


Elena had seen a lot in her life of sixty years. Being a married woman and a mother of two sons, she had always known how to handle tricky situations. It's the integral part of being the home maker of a family that consists entirely of men…one stubborn husband and two very stubborn sons.

But the current problem was throwing her off her game. The reasons were manifold. For one, the problem was just four years old with a face that would make even the hardest hearts melt.

It's a long story.

Elena had been the housekeeper for Petros household for more than three decades. She had come to know a lot about them.

The Petros clan was one of the richest families of the time. They were what's often termed as the old money that came mainly from shipbuilding. But the world wars and the resultant crisis had witnessed a sufficient erosion of wealth of the Petros family. Those were dark days for the Petros clan. Elena had heard it from her father, who used to be the housekeeper of the mansion before her. It was the great patriarch Amyntas who recovered the fallen fortunes and brought the Petros shipping back on its own feet. Under the guidance of his son and successor Phillip the industry reached new heights again.

Elena had become the sole keeper of the huge mansion since the time of Phillip and his wife Olympia. He used to remain busy with his work. And she on the other hand rarely had any time for her family outside her packed schedule of charity, page three parties and social work. The husband and the wife rarely saw each other in the eyes and had lovers of their own. Their marriage was a strategic one aimed at uniting wealth of two richest families for joint gain.

Elena had seen it all. But what had stolen her heart all those years ago was a little blond haired angel who used to shiver in the corner of his bedroom when his drunk parents fought tooth and nail. Alexandros. ..Phillip's little son. Elena did her best to shield the little boy from the ugly truth. But she knew she didn't always succeed. The little boy lived in the midst of plenty and yet starved of affection from those he loved.

Alexandros was sent to an elite boarding school when he was seven. Elena was heartbroken for a while..but deep inside she was relieved. She didn't want Alex to turn into the men of his family..cruel, arrogant and drunk with power.

Alexandros passed high school with highest grades and went straight to Cambridge to study Economics. He rarely spoke to his parents but spoke to Elena every other day. Elena knew.

Elena had become convinced that Alex would never return to his ancestral home. But it all changed one day when something unexpected happened. Phillip's little twin engine Cessna crashed on a mountain on its way to Athens in which both he and his wife were travelling.

All of a sudden the Petros clan was rudderless and Elena's little Alex was forced to return. But something had changed in the meantime. Elena's Alex was little no more.

And he was not alone.

Alex entered his childhood home holding the hands of a young man whom he introduced as Tion. It was short for Hephaistion, and it made Elena smile inwardly at the similarity.

Bright cyan eyes, flawless complexion and face of an angel. He hugged Elena tightly after introduction and kissed her cheek. She knew in an instant.

Her Alex was alone no more.

That was ten years ago. Alex was now the head of the Petros shipping. Under his able leadership the industry flourished. Apart from manufacturing merchant vessels, Alexandros had also made lucrative contracts with the navy. More importantly Petros shipping had become much more humane. Alex and Tion married a couple of years later in a simple ceremony with just fifty guests. It was too simple and private and didn't grace the page of the flashy tabloids..like the marriage of Phillip and Olympia did.

They were happy. They had managed to prove all predictions of the press false..by remaining devoted to each other. What was better..the two soon became three.

A little sniff brought Elena to the present.

Niki was looking at her with a huge pout marring his baby face.

Niki was Alex and Tion's son. It was short for Andreas Nicholas. Niki's dada and pa had fought spectacularly over the names of Helios and Andreas. Alex, Niki's pa had wanted the name Helios but had chosen his dada's choice instead.

Why?

Firstly , because he secretly loved the name Andreas too.

And secondly, Niki's dada was the one who carried and gave birth to him. The whole 10 lbs 6oz of him to be exact. Yes. Niki was a big baby and doctors had to do a caesarean to pull him out of his dada's tummy.

But that's story for another day.

Niki's childhood was not a repeat of his pa's. He had grown up with two doting parents in the middle of love and warmth.

"Want some candy Niks?" Elena tried to sooth the little rebel . Although she was not fond of bribing little children, she had to distract the sad little boy.

She wasn't successful though.

"I no wanna camby nini" cried out Niki , burying his little face in the couch cushions, "I wanna go to dada!"

"You know dada and pa are at the doctor's, don't you? They'll come soon baby" Elena knelt in front of the little rebel who was refusing to take his nap.

Just as Elena started opening her mouth to respond, the silence was shattered by the shrill sound of the ringing phone. Elena picked it up and answered it.

"Hello?"

….

"Alex? How's he?"

…

"Is he conscious?"

..

"Oh my God! I'm so happy for you baba!"

…

"No..he's restless and refusing to sleep."

…

"Ok baba. Be careful ."

Elena put the phone down and looked at Nikki with a huge smile on her face.

"Pa's commin back Niki."

Two sad cyan eyes looked up at her hopefully. "And dada?"

"Dada's at the doctor's kiddo. He'll be back soon." she whispered picking up the child who promptly hid his face in his nini's neck. She carried him to the big bedroom and laid him on the plush bed.

"Close your eyes baby. Dada'll be back soon." she kissed the baby cheek.

Niki hugged his dada's pillow to his little chest. It smelled like dada..of flowers and home. Niki's dada and pa left last night. Niki had heard his dada crying out but nini had stopped him from going to his dada . She had told him that everything would be fine.

His eyes were almost closed when he felt the bed move under him. Nikki sat up . It was pa. He wasted no time and jumped on his pa's lap and hugged him tight.

"I missed you Niks!" his pa whispered in his hair. Nikki looked at dada closely. He looked tired and worn out. His hair looked like bird's nest that dada had shown him the other day. His little chest tightened with worry. He held his father's face within the palm of his tiny hands and looked into his eyes.

"Dada?" His bright blue eyes filled with tears. Something wasn't right.

But papa smiled and shook him a little.

"Everything is fine kiddo!" he whispered.

They both fell on the huge bed and crawled under the blankets. Nikki's pa kissed his forehead and smiled fondly.

"Let's have a nap baby. In the evening we will go to see your dada, ok?"

The huge load of misery that rested on the little shoulders throughout the day vanished instantly. Laughter broke out of his body just like golden sunlight from under the dark clouds.

"Really papa? We gonna see dada?"

The older man nodded in ascent.

"Sure kiddo! Your little brother wants to meet you too!"

Alexandros Patros couldn't wait to see his two little princes meet. He hugged his son and fell into a happy sleep at last.


End file.
